


Vaquero

by Slasherflicks



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (Doesn't factor heavily into the story: read the notes), Action, Age Difference, Anal Sex, Angst, Barebacking, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Jesse "Why Me" McCree, M/M, Original Blackwatch characters included, Reyes isn't an asshole in a fic for once, Rimming, Romance, Smut, bottom!Jesse McCree, no seriously read the notes first, top!Gabriel Reyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 15:03:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12843690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slasherflicks/pseuds/Slasherflicks
Summary: A mission goes south. Drinks are had. And Jesse has a birthday he's sure to never forget.





	1. I: THE MISSION

**Author's Note:**

> Hello AO3! This is my first time writing a fic since...well, high school, most likely. I've been down in a artistic slump for what feels like some time now, so I wanted to use this as an opprotunity to flex some fanfic writing as that was one of my private joys when I was younger. I am complete trash for Overwatch and it's characters, and I'm a sucker for the most simultanously overrtated/underrated ship in this fandom (IMO), McReyes ;).
> 
> DISCLAIMER: As implied, this fic was more of a "practice run" for me to try & get back into the swing of writing again. Not to imply that effort wasn't put into it! But as such, it is quite rough and disjointed in tone (intentionally; each chapter I tried to "flex" a different writing style: action, romance, smut) & I am expecting and welcoming nothing other than constructive critisism for this. I have (what I believe to be) a solid idea/plan mapped out for a MUCH more expansive McReyes fic on the horizon that I feel quite confident about, that would include alot more of the OW cast, OC Blackwatch characters & other surprises, so PLEASE, give pointers! It will help me make that fic take a better shape. I am by no means an author, just a fan with overactive imagination.
> 
> AGE DIFFERENCE: Jesse McCree turns 20 in this fic while I imagine Reyes to be about 28-29. If that's not your thing, you might want to avoid, but it doesn't factor heavily into the story. Hope you enjoy!

Jesse McCree pressed his Stetson hat firmly down against his head as he took a drag off his cigar, feeling the smoke swirl and settle in his lungs, surveying the scene in front of him. Dorado’s famous _Dia de los Muertos_ festival had been going strong for most of the night, and the locals showed no signs of slowing down. In the twilight of the town’s square, countless candles were placed along the rim of the central fountain, mirrored overhead by rows of stringed lights that extended from one stall shop to another, illuminating the place is a soft, warm glow. Humans and Omnics dressed in vivid colors and their faces painted in the traditional _calavera_ style flitted around, dancing to the music playing from speakers, enjoying company of friends and family  & speaking animatedly to shopkeepers. _Cold tonight_ , he remarked, pulling his red serape tighter around him. He may be only 19, but growing up around Deadlock, Jesse never thought he’d experience the world past Santa Fe. Mexico itself seemed like something fabled, an ancient continent he’d only ever hear about, never see.

 _Reckon it’d make for a nice vacation_ , he thought to himself, as he watched children with sparklers in hand zoom past him. _I’ll have to come back when I’m not on duty._

The communicator on his wrist let out a nearly-unnoticed - _beep_ \- and two small vibrations, breaking Jesse out of contemplation. He glanced down at the holo screen. “COMM LINK REQUESTED: **_G, REYES._ ** ” it read in bold, black font.

_Speak of the devil._

He hit the connection tab and placed the clear, button-sized speaker attached to the device in his ear. Another small - _beep-_ echoed the first, signaling that the connection had been established.

“McCree reportin’. Go ahead, boss.”

“Sit-rep, agent _,_ ” came a deep, gravelly reply from the other end of the line. Gabriel Reyes. Veteran of the Omnic Crisis, the commanding officer of the most secretive black ops squad in the world. The man who saved Jesse’s life, though he failed to see that at first; picked him out from the dust and rubble his squad had made of the Route 66 diner, & gave him another shot at making something of himself by bringing him into Blackwatch. _‘Either us, or jail,’_ was his offer.

Jesse could tell from his tone even across the communicator that Gabe was running low on patience. This was supposed to have been a quick, simple mission; one of their scouters had tipped off to Blackwatch that Los Muertos was planning on using the celebration as a cover to move a large shipment of stolen military weapons the gang had acquired, since most law enforcement in the area would be deployed at the town square. Get in, neutralize the hostiles & recover the goods, get out without blowing any alarms. Blackwatch had run ops like this dozens of times since Jesse joined. But for the past 3 hours, no lead had surfaced.

“No sign of gang activity in the square, and I haven’t seen anyone that screams ‘potential weapons runner,’” Jesse continued softly, scanning the scene in front of him with critical eyes. Couldn’t afford anyone to eavesdrop. He took another drag off his cigar, his other hand absentmindedly feeling for Peacekeeper tucked away at his waist. “Any word from Bria or Jacob?” The two other agents that had been deployed with Jesse for this mission had kept comms to a minimum as they patrolled the outer perimeter of the square.

“Nope. Dead air. Los Muertos must be keeping their noses low, for once,” Gabriel replied.

“What’dya need me to do, boss?”  
  
“To stay focused. If you don’t see signs of activity in two hours, rendevouz with the others and extend your search radius past the square. We’re not leaving here without some kind of results for me to slap onto Morrison’s desk.” Gabriel added that last sentence with what sounded like a note of distaste over the speaker.

“Understood,” Jesse replied with a nod of his head. A thought crossed his mind, and he cleared his throat, hesitating before speaking again. “You, uh...you doin’ alright too, boss?” He knew that Gabriel was also in the area, skulking through the nearby alleyways in case something went down.

He heard what sounded like a scoff. “I’m fine, McCree.” Gabriel said cooly. “Just stay. Focused. Over and out.”

Then the comm went dead.

Jesse sighed. He clicked the earpiece back into its place on the comm. _Don’t keep pullin’ shit like that,_ he thought to himself bitterly. _He’ll start to wonder what’s what._

It wasn’t Jesse’s fault that he had a secret thing for his Commander. _No_ , he corrected himself. _It’s beyond a ‘secret thing.’_ Jesse was _obsessed_ with Reyes. He remembered the first time he laid eyes on Gabriel a year ago, moving like a panther through Deadlock’s headquarters, twin shotguns in hand as he blew away what Jesse had called both home and prison for the last 5 years almost single-handedly. Shock and awe. In Jesse’s mind at the time, he seemed like something ripped straight out of a comic book; a few inches over six feet tall, bona-fide _wall_ of muscle, rugged but handsome features accented with scars that criss-crossed his face. The way his brown eyes locked with Jesse’s and never broke contact as that voice echoed through the interrogation room, telling him to come back with his squad to Zurich. ‘ _You’re good with a gun, kid. But I can make you better._ ’

His affections weren’t just based around the good looks, though. In the past year, he’d grown close to Gabriel as he shadowed him, as close as a recruit could get to a commander, learning and adapting to the new life he was provided. Behind the hard, militia-perfectionist exterior was a man with _genius_ intellect  & a dark sense of humor, who truly cared about his recruits. Every time Gabriel critiqued his technique, or reprimanded him for being slow in team exercises, it lit a fire in Jesse’s core to do better, to impress him. He got stronger, working his body from the skinny, malnourished pup that they took in to someone stronger, leaner, someone of use. He lived for the half-smile that crosses Gabriel’s face when he succeeded in a mission, lived for the simple praise Gabriel would throw his way, _Nice work, vaquero..._

It was a one-sided, unhealthy fantasy, that much Jesse knew full well. Besides being almost a decade his senior, Gabriel was a war hero, a Black Ops commander for the world’s police force, employed by the goddamn United Nations. Jesse didn’t even want to think about all the codes of conduct feelings like his surely would breach. But god, Jesse could think of _no one_ else. Fantasies started to become all-too common, working himself in hand at his dorm, imagining Reyes’s fingers replacing his own. Jesse always felt slight shame afterwards, couldn’t quite hold Gabriel’s gaze when he’d look him in the eyes during briefings. It wasn’t like there weren’t options for him to work out his teenage frustrations, either; Deadlock may never have been full of lookers of any gender, but Blackwatch had more than a few agents that made it clear to Jesse _exactly_ what it was they wanted. Overwatch may have had rules discouraging relations between agents, but from what Jesse had seen, that didn’t extend to the Blackwatch base down the hill. Or at least no one seemed to care.

But he never could bring himself to take up the advances. _Because none are like the boss. Don’t matter, though. No use dwellin’ on goods you can’t have._ Another puff on his cigar as he watched the smoke dance, veiling the celebration in front of him hazily. _Gotta stop thinking about him like this..._ He often let himself zone out this way, watching the puffs dance across his vision when he got too deep into his head. Hazy blue smoke mixing in with the golden glow & jewel tones of the festivities around him, mingling between one another...

Jesse didn’t even realize how far he was gone he was until he felt a tap on his shoulder that snapped his mind back to attention.

He turned to find a girl, darker-skinned than Gabriel, dressed plainly in a black hoodie and jeans. Her hair was pulled back into cornrows, showing off her face decorated in simple white markings, the artistic impression of a sugar skull. Brown eyes glinted with sly intent, and her full lips pulled into a smirk at their corner when Jesse met her gaze. Bria, another one of Blackwatch’s field agents and one of their only pilots. She was a crafty woman, flippant and sarcastic as they come. When Jesse first joined, she was one of the first to befriend him, claiming that since their dorms were next to each other back at HQ, it made them ‘practically roommates.’

“Dozing off on the job, cowboy?” she asked, her voice low and sing-song as she leaned against the wall next to him.

Jesse stared at her as he exhaled more smoke off a drag. “Aren’t ‘ya supposed to be running perimeter?” he replied.

“Jacob and the Commander have that covered,” Bria said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. She pulled the cigar from Jesse’s lips and took a quick drag herself before handing it back, blowing it through her nose. “Besides, scouting is fucking _boring._ Figured you wouldn’t mind the extra eyes down here, and the company.”  
  
He snorted at that. “Boss’ll have your hide for a new rug, if he sees you dipped out from post.”

“I’m sure my tracker tipped him off already, he can bitch me out for a week of drills later,” she said, as if that excused it. “Does it _really_ take three people to monitor a two-block radius?” Bria’s eyes were darting around the square as she spoke. “Place is a dead zone tonight, anyway. Everyone in town is congregated here. Almost no activity in the surrounding streets. If Los Muertos makes a move, we’ll see it.”

Jesse found it hard to argue with her logic. “If you say so,” he said, flicking the nub of his cigar into a nearby corner. Moving forward, he motioned for Bria to follow. “Let’s get to work.”

For the better part of an hour they weaved through the crowds of locals, from stall to stall, Jesse occasionally bantering with passerby in the best spanish he could muster, hoping not to attract too much attention. Through the crowd, he saw Bria moving nonchalantly around the square, looking like any other civilian taking in the sights. It wasn’t until he made almost a 360 loop around the fountain that he noticed a lone Omnic leaning against a closed-down stall, not having moved since they both had started. It looked _too_ relaxed, not even its metal hulls painted or dressed in the colors of the celebration around it. Casual as it’s head swiveled from side to side. Scouting.

Jesse switched his earpiece of his comm on, watching Bria from across the square as she received the transmission, locking eyes with him. “Got something?”

“Omnic, on your right. Three o’clock,” he said, watching her subtly turn to look. “See him?”

“Yeah. What about it?”  
  
“He’s been here since before you showed up, milling around. Hasn’t moved from that spot in the last hour”

Bria was silent for a short time as she slipped out of view, Jesse assuming her to be moving in closer to the suspect. “I have visual. Phone it in to commander. If we can flush him out, he might lead us to Los Muertos.”

“Will do. Stand by.” Jesse cut the link off of Bria, scrolling through the contacts on his communicator towards Reyes.

Or at least, he tried.

The touchscreen wasn’t scrolling. He swiped uselessly at it. “C’mon, you piece of junk. _”_ But the damn thing was unresponsive. Sighing, he hit the button on the side that initiated soft reboot for the device. Wouldn’t take more than a minute for it to come back online.

But when he pressed it, the screen suddenly flashed from it’s normal blue to a bright, acrid pink. A small skull logo flashed across the screen, and a second later, it went black, signalling the reboot.

“...The hell?” Jesse watched the usual loading bar quickly fill, the usual interface back on display after a short while. _Was that just some kind of radio interference, or…?_ Looking up, he noticed the Omnic had moved from his post across the wall, heading for an alleyway at the far side of the square. Losing time. Gingerly, he swiped his finger over the touchscreen; the page scrolled without hesitation this time. Seemed operational. But he couldn’t shake the feeling something was off. He’d have to hand his comm over to WatchTech when they were back in Gibraltar for troubleshooting. Finally, he hit the name labeled “G. REYES, **COMMANDER** ” in the directory.

The familiar beep of the connection came through. “Report,” Reyes ordered.

 _Signal seems clear enough from his end,_ Jesse thought. He tried to shake the uneasy feeling out of his head, staring at the comm’s screen for a second before replying. _What_ was _that?_ “Got a possible suspect in the square.” he reported. “Male Omnic, a civilian model. Been chillin’ at the wall surveying the place for about the last hour, active now, heading for the south-east exit. Permission to engage?”

“Negative,” Gabriel replied. “Keep tabs. Follow, but do not engage. Jacob and I will rendezvous to you. Keep your comm on & wait for orders.”  
  
“Affirmative,” Jesse replied, watching the Omnic slip into the alley. Bria joined his side not a moment after, looking at him expectedly. “Boss says to follow, not engage. They’re coming our way.”

Bria nods her head, making for the alleyway with Jesse close in tow, his right hand finding its way to Peacekeeper once more. Slipping through the alleyway, it was as if the square & it’s celebration had been self-contained in a bubble. Darkness covered the streets, with not even the streetlamps active to give illumination, aside from the full moon overhead. Like Bria had said, there wasn’t a soul in sight besides the Omnic, marching some distance ahead of them. The farther Jesse and Bria walked from the square, the darker and quieter the streets of Dorado seemed to become. _Little wonder a gang that operates out of here takes to callin’ themselves ‘The Dead,’_ Jesse thought to himself. _Place turns into a graveyard at night._

A sudden shift of movement from an alley they were next to put Jesse into high alert. Reflexively, he drew his pistol, raising it towards the darkness, Bria following suit with her own silenced handgun. Then a quiet laugh echoed from the dark as combat boots emerged into view.

“I could disarm both of you before you could even _try_ ,” Gabriel smirked, stepping into the moonlight of the street.

Jesse lowered his pistol, and couldn’t help but feel his heart flutter as Gabriel’s eyes locked with his for a briefest of moments. _Damn,_ the Commander looked good. The close-fitting black hoodie and tactical vest fit well, accentuating his form, with one of his ever-present deep grey beanies hiding his curls of hair. Gabriel’s eyes darted over to the Omnic, who was turning a corner at the end of the road. “That our suspect?”  
Jesse’s mind was still blank, choosing to focus instead on the movement of Gabriel’s lips before he realized that he was addressing the question him. “Uh, yessir, that’s him.”

Gabriel gave him a quizzical look before turning his attention to Bria. “And is there any particular reason _you’d_ like to explain why you went AWOL on Jacob from your assigned post?”

As if on cue, a second figure emerged from the shadows behind Gabriel. Tall, lanky, and with tired eyes that peeked out from a gaunt face, Jacob was one of Blackwatch’s best scouts and snipers. When Jesse first joined, Jacob was the one he initially had to shadow in marksman training. The guy was good, but not great, a little bit of a trigger-happy finger that shown like a deep crack in his otherwise spotless form. “Forreal, Bria, what gives?” he added. “You know how boring it is to sit on rooftops without company?”

She just shrugged at them, a hint of smile pulling at her lips. “ _This_ place is boring. Figured Jesse could use the extra eyes in the crowd.”

Gabriel didn’t look amused. “Don’t think you’ll be getting off scott-free for that shit when we get back to base,” he turned to Jesse, who felt himself straighten up reflexively from the gaze. “You said this guy was ‘scouting?’”  
  
“Looked like it to me, sir,” Jesse replied. “Saw him enter the square not long after Bria did, posted up on a wall at the far end, just observing’ everything. Made for the exit a while after we started our sweep.”

Gabriel nodded his head, his gaze turned towards the corner the Omnic disappeared behind. He motioned to Jacob & Bria. “Take the roofs and see if you can get overhead visual on him. Me and _vaquero_ here will cover the ground. And for fuck’s sake, stick _to-ge-ther_.” He enunciated every syllable in the last word, staring at Bria.

“Yes, Commander,” they said in unison with a salute, before Jacob was waving for Bria to follow, the two pulling their hoods up before disappearing into the blackened shadows of the alley.

Jesse could practically feel the silence of the town creeping back in around Gabriel and him, without their presence. He turned to his commander, who motioned for Jesse to follow as he started down the street. He obliged, always keeping a hand close to Peacekeeper.

For a while, there was nothing but the sounds of their footsteps between them. Jesse felt himself growing anxious, watching Gabriel’s back as he marched forward. The image of the pink skull on his comm flashed across his memory for a split second, which only seemed to strengthen his unease. _Towns should never be this quiet._ His fingers danced idly across the leather of his holster. Always felt a bit trigger happy when his nerves were riled…

Gabriel must’ve sensed this, because he turned and raised a brow at Jesse. “You good?”

Jesse gulped, his heart betraying him by beating just a bit faster from such a simple look. _Ya damn easy fool._ “Right as rain, boss,” he replied, trying his best to sound nonchalant as normal.

Gabriel just hummed, turning forward again. “Got any plans for your birthday?”

 _That_ froze his train of thought. Jesse blinked. “My what, now?”  
  
Gabriel turned and gave him a quizzical look. “Your birthday, _cabron_.” he replied simply. “Mexico may be behind a few hours, but back in Gibraltar it’s today, isn’t it?”

Was it, truly? Jesse opened up the calendar app on his comm. Sure enough, there it was; November 1st was just beginning its morning hours in the Gibraltar timezone. “Well, damn,” he said sheepishly, removing his hat to push his hair back in embarrassment. “Guess it is. No plans though, truthfully hadn’t thought too much about it. S’only my twentieth.”

“Not a little teenage brat anymore,” Gabriel said ahead of him. “I’d call that a big deal.” Jesse could hear the smirk in his voice. “Once were back at HQ, let’s grab a drink. To celebrate.”

If Jesse’s train of thought was frozen before, that completely derailed it. “Y’mean it, boss?” he asked sheepishly. “Don’t have to do nothin’, never made much fuss over my birthday anyway…” he didn’t have to mention that Deadlock didn’t give a shit about sentimental things like that for it’s recruits, things like _birthdays_ or _vacations_. He didn’t need to mention it. Gabriel knew.

“All the more reason to, then,” his commander continued. “I’ll have the night off after briefing. Was planning to go off-base and get a drink for myself anyway.” There was a small pause before Gabriel started talking again. “Can’t see why you shouldn’t tag along. Think of it as a reward for a productive first year here. You’ve been doing good work for us, McCree.”

Jesse’s mind still felt fried and was drawing up blanks, trying to figure out what was happening. Reyes, his commander, the object of his affection, giving him praise? Asking to buy him drinks? How could Jesse say no?

“Well, when you put it like that, can’t really refuse, boss. Thanks.” he replied, hoping that he didn’t sound as elated as he felt. “Lookin’ forward to it.”

A short distance later, and they had reached the street corner. Gabriel pressed himself back flat against the wall, a finger to his lips. Jesse followed suit. “Mission first,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper. He tapped something on his comm, and Jesse hear three quick beeps go off in his earpiece The screen on his wrist displayed a group of four small boxes in a row with their initials: GR, JM, BK, JW. Gabriel had linked them up, all four agents in a voice channel. Jesse nodded, unholstering Peacekeeper from his belt and moving to take point formation ahead of Gabriel. _Deep breaths,_ he told himself, feeling himself slip back into the headspace of a field agent. _It’s showtime_.

He carefully took a peek around the corner. Just a few yards away, the Omnic they had been trailing was there, and he wasn’t alone. A man and a woman stood with him. Both had the tell-tale neon body paint of the Los Muertos gang, the man’s shaved head and blue skeletal markings a stark contrast to the woman’s green paint and loud, pink mohawk. Behind them, a red pickup truck was running idly, it’s headlights illuminating the darkened road ahead of them. Jesse could see crates loaded into the truck’s flatbed. The Omnic seemed to be having an animated conversation with the two, gesturing to the truck every so often.

“Bot’s still there. Couple‘a Muertos perps with him, male and a female, looks like.” Jesse turned to Gabriel. “Think I see the goods in their truck, too.”

Gabriel nodded. He touched the piece in his ear. “Bria, Jacob. You copy that?”

“Right above you two,” came Bria’s voice in Jesse’s earpiece. Him and Gabriel looked up just in time to see Bria peering over, giving them a grin & a small salute at Gabriel before disappearing back onto the roof. “Ready to engage when you are, sir.” He heard the faint click of her firearm’s magazine being loaded through his earpiece.

“Yeah, I have visual.” Jacob’s voice came in over the mic. “Clear light of sight on all three. Want me to take ‘em out, boss?”

“Negative,” Gabriel cut in sharply. “We need to get this done _without_ fanfare. Those weapon crates in the truck are our top priority.” He let out a small _tsk_ between his teeth as his eyes shifted, taking in the space around him, a tic that Jesse recognized meant he was wracking his brain thinking of an alternative strategy. “You didn’t happen to bring the tools I asked you to, did you?” Gabriel asked into his comm. Jesse looked over at him. His brow was furrowed with concentration, but there was a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

He heard a scratchy noise through his earpiece that Jesse recognized as Jacob’s laugh. “‘Course I did, sir,” came the reply.

Gabriel nodded. “Have fun, then, recruit. Omnic first.”

“Copy that. Engage at will.”  
Jesse was staring at Gabriel with a bewildered look. “What are-”  
  
He cut Jesse off with a gloved hand over his mouth, pointing to the direction of the truck. Peeking over, he watched the two continue to load up the truck, until…

- _CRACK!_ -

The silence was cut sharply as the Omnic fell to the ground in a metallic heap. Lightning surged from its joints as it convulsed and smoked on the ground. _EMP bullets,_ Jesse thought, smiling. One of the prototype designs he recognized that the Blackwatch R &D had been developing. _Gabe’s nothing if not prepared._

The commotion had alerted the other two gangsters. Immediately, the girl seemed to turn tail and run through a nearby alley. Jesse saw Bria leap from her perch, sprinting out of view in pursuit of the girl once she hit the ground. The other thug’s eyes went wide, moving towards the Omnic crumpled still on the ground, before looking up towards Jesse and Gabriel sprinting his way. He peeled around towards the truck & hopping into the driver’s seat. Jesse heard the engine rev as it was turned on.

“He’s making a run for it!” Gabriel announced over the com.  
  
“Should be a fun time for him, without a full set of tires on that thing,” came Jacob’s sardonic reply.

- _CRACK! CRACK!_ -

Trails of two sniper shots, coming from the building behind them that Jacob must’ve been set up on, connected at the truck’s back tires. Jesse watching as the rubber practically shredding itself loose off the frames. Metal screeched as sparks flew from underneath, the thug still slamming on the gas pedal, trying to speed away. Quickly, Gabriel rushed to engage, Jesse close behind.  
  
“Jesse, with me! Jacob, cover us!” he was ordering into the com. Jesse heard a thud behind them followed by a soft grunt, turning to see Jacob picking himself up onto his feet and rushing to their position. Gabriel was already at the truck, rushing around to the driver’s seat when the thug practically threw himself out of it, a metal baseball bat in hand. He looked like he was raising it for a swing as Gabriel made to lunge forward at him; Jesse let Peacekeeper ring out with a loud bang, as he shot the weapon free from the thug’s hand in one swift movement.

His gaze turned over to Jesse and Jacob in disbelief, dumbly taking his eyes off Gabriel more than long enough for him to make his move, tackling the thug to the ground. A string of curses in Spanish were flowing from his mouth as Gabriel cuffed him, silenced by a swift hit to the back of the head from one of his shotguns once he was secured. The thug went down, knocked out cold. Gabriel positioned him upright against the wall.

He looked over at Jesse, and at peacekeeper, still smoking from the barrel. “Thought I said to do this without fanfare,” he said flatly. Jesse frowned, opening his mouth to retort that EMP bullets we'rent the pinnacle of subtlety, but Gabriel cut him off. “But, good work, nonetheless.”

Jesse joined him with Jacob following in tow, as Gabriel moved to the truckbed, eyeing the crates. He tapped the solid wood on one of them as Jacob knelt at the crumpled forms of the thug and the Omnic, a biotic reader in hand, scanning them down to assess injuries. “These the weapons, boss?” Jesse asked.  
  
Gabriel nodded. Crossing around to the truck, Jesse heard him rummaging through its backseat before returning, a crowbar in hand. He tossed it to him. “Do the honors, _vaquero_. Let’s take a look.”

Jesse gripped the piece of iron strong in-hand as he hopped into the truckbed, bracing his feet on either side of one of the crates. He noticed there weren’t many nails securing the lid to the top, but didn’t think of it much as he went about using the sharp-ended side of the crowbar to pull them out. Finally, he leveraged the flat end between the lid and the box’s rim, ripping it clear off in one fluid motion.

The first thing Jesse notices is green. Mint green, tons of mint green packing pellets filling up the box. He stick his hand in, feels around for something, anything buried underneath. There isn’t. He looks up to Gabriel who’s staring at him expectantly.

“Well?” he asks, an eyebrow raised.

“Uh...well.” Jesse echoes, rubbing at the back of his head, unsure of what to say. “Don’t know how to tell you this, boss, but I think we’ve been duped.”

He watches a vein bulge out at Gabriel’s temple as his jaw sets forward. _Shit_ , Jesse thinks. _Pissed him off._ “Come again?” he asks quietly.

Jesse motions to the crate, tipping it over and watching the thousands of mint green packets spill over the edge and onto the street. More than a few fall over the Omnic’s body on the ground, where Jacob shoots him a dirty look, his emitter still scanning. “These are duds, boss,” he says. He reached for another one of the smaller crates; able to lift it with one hand, no problem. A sure sign of empty. He doesn't have to check the rest to know they’re probably the same. “Someone must’ve tipped them off that we were here.”

“Impossible,” Reyes said flatly. The cords in his neck flex as he grinds at his jaw. Jesse tries not to focus on it too hard. “We’ve had this op mapped out and pushed through the pipes way to quick for them to catch wind of it.” He placed a hand at his forehead, rubbing his temples before marching away, his hand going to his earpiece.  “Bria, report. Any sign on the Los Muertos girl?”  
  
“Negative,” came her reply. She sounded out of breath. “I had her at arm's length for a while, but I swear to god, this bitch just straight up _disappeared_ on me.”

“Then we have to assume she’s calling in for backup,” Gabriel said. He was speaking evenly, his tone neutral, as if he was trying to calm himself down. “Place is going to light up with these neon-painted rats if we stick around here long enough. Mission is a bust.”

Jacob turned to him at that. “Sir...?” he asked carefully.

Gabriel ignored him. “Bria, I’m sending you coordinates for the evac shuttle. Get there and prepare us for takeoff in 15. We won’t be far behind.”  
  
“Copy that,” came Bria’s reply. There was a beep as her link closed off, the square with her initials disappearing from the screen on their wrists.

Gabriel looked to Jacob. “You should meet her there as well. Scout ahead and see if you find any potential hazards for us to avoid.” His tone was impassive as he turned away.

Jacob gave him a quizzical look, then shifted his gaze to Jesse, as if to ask,‘Is he serious?’ Jesse just shrugged his shoulders, grateful Gabriel’s back was to them. But wordlessly, he obeyed, Jason turning and sprinting down one of the darker side roads as he checked his comm for the coordinates.

And then they were alone again.

Jesse cleared his throat, unsure of what to say. Gabriel still had his back turned to him, staring at the empty crate tossed on the ground. His head was hanging low. “Boss, these things happen, don’t they?” he started. “Not every mission is gonna go smooth-like, you can’t predict these things.” he said, hoping that sounded more comforting out loud than it probably did. He watched Gabriel roll his neck back, a sigh escaping his lips. He turned to Jesse and offered him a levelled, serious look.

“It’s my _job_ to predict things like this, Jesse,” was all he said simply before trudging away from the wreckage. “For all of us.”

He stared after Gabriel, thinking about that. It was no secret that Gabriel didn’t choose Blackwatch as his first department to command over. Rumor was that him and Jack Morrison were both in the running for becoming Strike Commander of Overwatch, post-crisis. But the UN had chosen Morrison, and gave reign of Blackwatch to Reyes. From what Jesse had heard, it had put a rift in the two soldier’s friendship that never fully closed up. He had shadowed Reyes on more than one meeting his boss had with the Strike Commander, sitting outside the blue-doored office, hearing them shout themselves hoarse at one another for what felt like _hours_ before Gabriel would storm out, telling Jesse to go get the sparring mats ready. He couldn’t imagine the stress Blackwatch must induce on him. They did the “dirty work,” for Overwatch, the sensitive, undiplomatic kind of peacekeeping that the Heroes on posters wouldn’t get away with in the public eye. Fuck-ups and failed missions mattered more, for them.

Jesse hated seeing Gabriel like this. Seeing him feel _inadequate_ , a word he couldn’t imagine making sense associating it to Reyes. He’d only ever seen it once, on another mission that hadn’t gone according to plan, a honeypot job in Tokyo for information which was supposed to a vital primer for a mission Overwatch was planning, to crack down on the Yakuza chokehold on the area. The Blackwatch agent Gabriel had deployed, a new girl they had picked up prior, blew her cover & forced an evacuation. All plans effectively had to be scrapped from both ends. Jesse had never seen Morrison scream at Gabriel like that before, and Gabriel took it straight-faced until the Strike Commander had to turn and march fuming back to base. He remembered seeing Gabriel through the windows of his office as he passed later, pacing across the carpet, hands clasped tightly around the back of his neck. How badly Jesse wanted to walk in, wrap himself around Gabriel, tell him that he-

“ _McCree_.”

He snapped out of his clouded thoughts long enough to see that Gabriel had already started off some distance ahead, arms folded, waiting for him. Obviously thought the kid had been at his tail, as always. “In your own time, recruit,” he called.

“Sorry, sir. Sorry, sorry…” Jesse stammered, jogging up to meet him.

He was so lost in thought, that he didn’t even notice the pink-haired Los Muertos girl Bria had given chase too, perched on the roof above him, watching as he ran up to join the his linebacker-looking brute of a leader. She giggled to herself as holoscreens danced at her fingertips, walls of text popping up to join them. An anonymous call came forward on her earpiece.

“Go ahead,” she said.  
  
“Did the bait work?” came a gruff, distorted voice from the other end.  
  
“Yup. Weapon shipment should be on-route still. Hacking the whiteboy bought me enough time to rearrange the routes & led his goonies to our decoy.”

“Good work, _chica_ ,” the voice responded. “Come back whenever.”

She cut the line as another small burst of holoscreens popped up in it’s place. Pulling up a mugshot with a wall of text scrolling past, she allowed a smirk to cross her face as she read aloud:

_“Name, Jesse McCree. 19 years old, 183lbs, 5”10…”_


	2. II: THE DRINKS

Even though had taken flights to more missions since joining Blackwatch than he cared to count, Jesse still found himself growing anxious on planes.

The group had made it to the transport shuttle without further incident. Bria announced that it would be about a 4 hour flight back to Gibraltar base if she broke some airspace laws, which she informed her passengers that she “fully intended to do.” Jason fell asleep _hard_ at his seat in back near the weapon storage, his head lolling side to side with the turbulence from the place. Jesse envied him. _Rather sleep than have to sit through this shit_. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wishing his was back at his bed already.

Gabriel, sitting across from him, must have noticed Jesse fidgeting, as he looked up from the tablet he was busy typing away on (the mission report, no doubt) & gave him a small smirk.

“Still freaking out on planes? Thought we were past this.”  
  
“I’m not _freaking out_ , boss,” Jesse said, gulping down a breath as he fumbled at the seat restraints. “S’just not my most favorite part of this gig, is all.”

That earned a laugh from Gabriel. A deep, genuine laugh that made him throw his head back and display his teeth. Jesse was momentarily dazzled, the small hints of nausea he was feeling chased away by the sight, for a moment. “Since joining us you’ve been shot at, stabbed, and beaten up, but it’s the transport you take issue with. That’s rich.” he said, pointing his stylus towards Jesse.

 _Seems like he’s in a better mood than when we hit takeoff,_ he thought, watching Gabriel turn back down to his tablet. He was about to open his mouth to say something else, but Bria interrupted him from overhead. “Aaaaaaaaaattention, passengers!” she announced in a overly-cheery voice. Jesse watched Gabriel roll his eyes. “We regret to inform you that our in-flight movie is cancelled for tonight, but we will be arriving at our destination within the next few minutes. Please make sure you have all hats, glasses, and any loose items ready and on your person for you to get the fuck off my plane as quickly as possible.”

Smirking, Gabriel pressed a button on a small speaker next to him, a two-way cabin/pilot comm link. “ _Your_ plane?” he asked.

The loudspeaker crackled to life again. “If _you’d_ like to fly instead, I’ll happily sit my ass in the chair next mission, boss!” Bria’s voice rang out. Across the way, Jason’s head lifted in the commotion.

He shrugged at Jesse before pressing the button again. “Got me there.”

“Thought so,” came a smug voice from the loudspeaker. “Look alive, gents, we’re home. Landing in 5.”

Jesse couldn’t help but lean out the window. The Swiss Overwatch HQ was a dazzling sight, carved almost entirely into the side of a giant mountain. Glass windows and polished steel framing gleamed from the last bits of sunlight that managed to reach them. He could see the tarmac & hangar where Bria was currently guiding their plane towards, and past that, lit not as brightly as it’s heroic counterpart, the building Jesse called home: Blackwatch HQ, a neat, simple looking L-shaped building. Concrete and steel gave it an imposing, fortress-like appearance, with accents of red to contrast the Overwatch blue up the hill.

There was a _screeeeeech_ as the transport’s landing gear hit the tarmac. Gabriel stood as the plane began to slow, Jesse  & Jason following suit, making their way to the exit. Bria’s voice came over the loudspeaker again.  “Touchdown, boys! Welcome back.”

“Good to be back,” Jason remarked out loud. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the mess hall.”

Bria had emerged from the pilot cabin at that moment. “Ooh, shit, be sure to save me a spot.”  
  
“ _Both_ of you are to report to my office for mission review before you even think about crossing one of your _toes_ into the mess hall,” Gabriel informed them matter-of-factly. Jason let out a groan, and opened his mouth to protest, but Gabriel simply held up his hand at him. “Whatever it is, I don’t care. Those were orders, not a suggestion.”

That shut them up. Bria and Jason exited the plane with sullen expressions on their faces, shuffling towards the direction of the Commander’s office. As usual, Jesse stayed behind, magnetized to Gabriel.

He looked over at Jesse once the two were out of earshot of the other recruits. “So,” he started, raising a brow at Jesse. “Once I’m done with those two, you still up for a drink, birthday boy?”  
  
_Oh_. Jesse had almost forgotten about that in the heat of the mission. He felt like his face was turning red, and prayed that it wasn’t. “Uh, I mean, if you’re still rarin’ to, boss, I’d be honored-”

Suddenly, Gabriel _tsk’d_ at him, cutting Jesse short. “It’s not meant as an honor, Jesse. It’s a gift. And you don’t have to call me ‘boss’ when we’re off-duty. You know that.”

Jesse found it very difficult to look at anything other than his boots. If he wasn’t red before, he was surely now. “Yeah, then, sure, bo- _Gabe_ ,” he corrected himself. He took a short breath and tilted his head back up, meeting the other man’s gaze. “I’d like that alot.”  
  
Gabriel gave an affirmative nod of his head, his expression neutral. “Hit the showers, then. Meet me at the front gate in an hour. I’ll wait on you,” and with a simple turn on his heels, he marched towards the now-much-tinier figures of Bria & Jason.

Jesse felt himself let out of breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. _You fool. Stupid, stupid, stupid fuckin’ fool,_ he berated himself in his head as his feet seemed to march towards the shower of their own will, like his own body couldn’t defy Gabriel’s orders. _Told myself to stop entertainin’ this, stop thinkin’, and what do I go and agree too? Drinks with the man._ The communal showers were empty, a small mercy, with Jesse realizing that him and his team had arrived much later, the other agent washed, fed & back at their dorms already.

That incrementally lifted his spirits. _More hot water for me_.

Almost a half-hour later, he stood at the mirror in his room, buttoning and un-buttoning the top of his nicest flannel for the upteenth time. He wondered if he should just take it off and wear something else. He liked this flannel, though. It was a warm brown with gold and black accents, the buttons colored and shined to look like brass. _Should I ask Gabriel what to wear?_ he thought, before pushing the thought away as quickly as it came. _No._ _Then he’d for_ ** _sure_** _peg you for a psycho._ Growing frustrated, he buttoned it up once more. Did that look right? _No_ , his mind supplied again, _you look like a damn nut_. Jesse glared at himself in the reflection before undoing the button a final time with a sigh. _Boss doesn’t give a shit what you look like, dummy,_ he thought. _This isn’t like that for him. Only in your thick-ass skull._

 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Swiss Watchpoint headquarters were surrounded by an almost full three-sixty degrees of concrete-and-electric fencing, ending with a main gate near the front of the property that opened to a dirt road leading out to Zürich. Jesse found himself marching along the pavement to this gate in question, the sun well past set & slight gusts of wind & cold forcing him to draw his crimson serape tighter around himself. His hat threatened more than once to make a break for it off his head while walking, but there was no way he was going to spend what he was sure to be an anxiety-riddled evening for himself without it. The word _date_ had crossed his mind more than once on the walk over here, but Jesse didn’t let those thoughts hang around. He reads the message over his comm again for what has to be the eighth time;

 

[BW- **JM** (2122): hey im ready. said to meet u at the gate right?]  
[BW- **GR** (2125): Yea. Punch this code at the gate to let yourself out. I’ll pull up when I see you.]  
[BW- **GR** (2125): 8067912]  
[BW- **GR** (2129): Keep that to yourself, btw. Commander clearance]

 

Jesse scanned those last two words again. _Commander clearance_ . For some reason, Gabriel trusted him enough with codes only _he_ should have access too. Sure, it was just the codes to open the front gate, but the thought still scratched at the back of Jesse’s mind as he approached the imposing metal structure, flanked between two large obelisks of concrete.

He looked at the one closest to him: a sleek, lone black datapad was indented into the concrete, right at Jesse’s eye level. They had similar ones like this all over the headquarters; authenticator touchpads that only worked with those registered in the database. Gingerly, he placed his hand on it. A quiet _hummm_ started, as a line of blue behind the panel took a scan of his palm. Then the touchscreen switched, popping up with a keyboard and data field.

 

AUTHORIZATION CODE NEEDED: _______

 

Jesse pulled up the previous messages on his comm again, and slowly punched in the code Gabriel had sent. Hitting enter, the pad displayed a small loading symbol before he heard a _ping!_ and a popup message flicked into view.

 

AUTHORIZATION GRANTED. **_G, REYES._ **

 

He stood back as the gate groaned, pulling itself open, slipping through the opening as it went when it was wide enough. It suddenly occurred to Jesse that his was _technically_ the first time he’d be going off-base for something other than a mission. His first time anywhere in Switzerland other than HQ. He didn’t know why, but the thought made him giddy, chased a bit of his anxiety away for a moment. Travelling was always a dream he had, staring up at the stars from the roof of the Deadlock diner in his younger years. Now, Jesse could say he touched a foot in almost every major continent at nineteen.

 _Twenty,_ he corrected himself in his head.

Pulling out his comm, he was about to message Gabriel again asking where he was when a pair headlights suddenly shone into view, startling him. The road out of base was surrounded by a small but dense forest, so dark that Jesse genuinely didn’t see the black car waiting, even though it wasn’t that far ahead of him. He watched the car slowly circle back over to him; as it pulled into the overhead lights from the gate, it revealed itself as an expensive-looking black Cadillac, its aggressive, sporty frame painted to a glossy finish. It rolled to a stop, passenger door in front of Jesse. _Limo-tinted windows_ , he noted. His hand went for the door, but felt himself hesitate for a moment before taking a breath, pulling on the handle and climbing in.

Gabriel sat at the driver’s wheel, momentarily typing away at his communicator. Jesse took the momentary distraction as an excuse to look him over; he had traded his usual command uniform & vest for a black peacoat and form-fitting grey sweater, tucked into black slacks. Waist secured by a plain belt with a silver buckle. The usually ever-present beanie was nowhere to be found, leaving the crew-cut of curls on the top of his head usually hidden underneath slightly pushed back and shiny with product. At some point after debriefing Jason & Bria, he must have shaved, the facial hair on his sides buzzed to the skin, the shadow accentuating his jawline and blending seamlessly into his usual goatee. A spicy, warm aroma of cologne filled the car, not too overpowering nor unpleasant but impossible to ignore.

Jesse was absolutely certain that if he were to die, right now, he’d be more than content with this as his last looks. Actually felt his toes _curl_ staring at him. Gabriel looked too damn good to ignore.

 _I’m so, SO fucked._ He legitimately considered bailing out the door right then & there, wondering how fast it might take to run back to his dorm and locking it shut.

But Gabriel had picked that moment to finish typing, setting the communicator down in one of the empty cupholders. He flashed a grin at Jesse. “Hey, _vaquero_ ,” he said. “You like?”

It took Jesse longer than he’d care to admit to piece together Gabriel was probably talking about the car. “Is this thing _yours_ , boss?” he said finally, mentally patting himself on the back for not sounding too stupid for once.

Gabriel’s mouth turned down at the corner. “Thought we talked about this ‘boss’ thing,” he said dismissively. “But yeah, it’s mine. Don’t get many opportunities these days to take it out as I’d like, so it’s nice when I get a chance. Just sits covered in the hangar, otherwise.” He shifted to drive as he spoke, slowly pulling away from the base.

Jesse took a quick survey of the interior. Taupe-grey leather, with deep wooden accents marbled on the door panels and fixtures. The dashboard was electronic, buttons and lights galore, the touchscreen showing a navigation route ahead of them. He didn’t want to admit it out loud, but it seemed more expensive than anything he’d ever been in before. “It’s definitely a looker, that’s for sure,” he responded. He turned to Gabriel. “Is it fast?”

Gabriel laughed at that, and Jesse couldn’t help but hide the smile that broke across his grin in response. “‘Is it fast,’ he says,” Gabriel echoed in a low voice, teasing. “Once we get to the main route, you’ll see.”

Gabriel touched a button on the dashboard at that, a fast, twang-y punk track suddenly strumming to life from the speakers and he turned up the volume slightly. Jesse looked at the screen on the dash; “Now Playing: _Wavves x Cloud Nothings_ \- **No Life For Me**.” Nothing he’d ever heard before. But he found himself tapping along to the rhythm as they weaved through the trees, which eventually parted to open up a stretch of actual road. Jesse could see Zürich not far off in the distance, lit up by the nightlights of the city as Gabriel moved onto the highway.

“Was that ‘fast’ question a _real_ one?” Gabriel suddenly asked as they moved up to speed, turning to Jesse. He was flashing him a grin that looked downright mischievous.

It hadn’t been, trutfully, just something Jesse wanted to say to keep the conversation going. But it was clear Gabriel had his mind made up already. Jesse returned the grin. “Hell yeah, man,” he said. “Show me what this’ll do.”

Before he even had a chance to get his bearings, Gabriel switched gears and the car practically shot forward like a rocket. Jesse felt himself flung back against the soft seats, gripping at one of the handrails, couldn’t help the grin getting wider as they went. Gabriel seemed just as excited as he is, if the smirk plastered on his face was anything to go by, as he watched the speedometer climb past 80, 90, 100, 110…He turned the knob up on the radio, the frantic guitars and drums matching the intensity of the ride.

Jesse silently thanked whatever powers that be for how empty the highway was tonight.

Even as they entered into Zürich propper, Gabriel didn’t fully slow, going at least 20 miles past the speed limit as they zipped through the streets. Finally, he pulled to stop in front of a rather nondescript-looking brick building, the hanging sign with a mug of beer painted on it by the door as the only indicator it was bar.

Gabriel climbed out of his seat, Jesse following suit. He flashed another grin - _Was that a wink?_ \- before asking “That do it for you?”  
  
“Damn near feel my pulse in my throat,” Jesse remarked. He couldn’t help how giddy he suddenly felt, as if the nerves from earlier were left behind in the rush across the highway. “But _fuck_ , man. Never been inside a car that went that fast.”

“Nothing helps quell an adrenaline rush like booze,” Gabriel replied, stepping around to the building and motioning for Jesse to follow. He opened the door as Jesse approached.

Inside was a cozy-looking establishment place, dim lit near the booths and brighter from the backlight of the bar as you got closer. It was warm, too; Jesse almost instantly felt the need to peel off his serape and hat. He turned around, and Gabriel must’ve felt the same, pulling his coat off and depositing it at a booth tucked into the corner. “Gonna go get us shots, for a warm-up,” he explained. “Preference?”  
  
Jesse didn’t know how to tell Gabriel that he didn’t have much knowledge of booze outside of the cheap whiskey and cheaper beer that Deadlock kept stocked, and this didn’t seem like a good time to mention it. But he knew one of those was a good choice to make him seem like he knew what he was talking about. “Whiskey?” Jesse said, taking the opposite seat in the booth.  
  
Gabriel brows raised slightly at his answer, but shook his head and walked over to the barkeep. Apparently, the two knew each other, as the barkeep, a older, pudgier-looking man, gave Gabriel a friendly pat on the back as he approached. He must have said something about Jesse, because Gabriel saw his hand motion towards him at his seat, and the bartender offered him a friendly wave, which Jesse returned sheepishly. He watched six shotglasses get lined up and filled, Gabriel pushing a wad of bills the bartender’s way only, to have it pushed back at him. He shook his head in disbelief, carrying the glasses back the table.

“Me and Amari used to come here on our days off,” Gabriel explained as he sat down. Jesse had never met Overwatch’s Captain Amari, but Gabriel had told him plenty of stories about the world’s best sniper & one of his closest friends. “Well, at least when we used to have them enough to come here. The owner still remembers me. Told him it was your birthday and he refused to take my money.” He pushed three of the shotglasses Jesse’s way, the dark amber liquid inside wobbling at the rim. “So, as they say in the bar scene, these are on the house.” He gestured to the drinks.

Jesse eyed them suspiciously. “All three’a these are for me?” he asked.  
  
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Yeah, _cabron_ , they are. Happy birthday.” And with that, he tossed one of his own shots back with a throw of his head, adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed it down without even so much as a grimace.. He motioned to one of Jesse’s glasses with his now empty one. “Go on, try it. Shit’s good.”

Jesse picked up one of the glasses, bringing it to his nose for a sniff. It smelled like any other strong alcohol, to Jesse. “Thanks for this, Gabe. I appreciate it,” he said, raising his shot to Gabriel in a small show of cheers. _Fuck it_ , he thought. He tipped his head back, going for an imitation of the motion he just saw Gabriel pull, but the moment the alcohol hit his tongue he felt himself involuntarily snap back down, a small coughing fit brought up after he swallowed. It burned his throat something fierce, whatever this stuff is was _strong_ , but it tasted good.

Gabriel was chuckling at the show, the low rumble in his chest making the booth vibrate slightly. He went for his second shot. “Guess I should’ve warned you about that part,” he remarked slyly, knocking his second shot back like the first. “But now that you know, the rest will go down easier.”

Jesse picked up another glass, opting to drink it straight up this time. Gabriel was right. The burn was still there, but it wasn’t as bad a second time. No coughing. He made a pleased noise before swallowing it down. “‘Stuff actually is pretty tasty,” he said. “This what you’ll usually get here?”  
  
Gabriel shook his head, mouth widening into a smile as he watched Jesse reach for his third shot. “Nah. Whiskey was always Amari’s order. I prefer tequila, myself.”

“Hm,” Jesse said noncommittally, mouth still full of booze. Gulping it down, he found he had to pause a bit before speaking again. His head was already feeling a slight buzz. “Never tried it, m’self.”

Gabriel was in the middle of raising his third glass to his lips, but that made him stop. He looked at Jesse with a curious expression. “You’ve...never had tequila? Or a margarita?” He sounded like it was something offensive.

Maybe it was the booze getting to him, but Jesse couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at the expression that was being leveled at him, like it was a personal affront to Gabriel that he’d never tried a drink. “Nah, man,” he said. “Didn’t have nothin’ like that around at the Diner.”

Gabriel downed his third shot with gusto. He met Jesse’s gaze with a grin of his own. “Well shit, kid. Think I know what we’ll be doing to celebrate tonight.”

Jesse couldn’t ignore the small twinge of butterflies that seemed to take root in his gut at that. He blamed it on the booze.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A couple hours later, Jesse found himself coming to two conclusions: one, that he was more drunk than he’d ever been in his entire life. Two, that tequila was probably his new favorite drink.

About eight more shots had joined the previous six on his & Gabriel’s table, all of which had been filled with the sweet, clear liquor that Gabriel insisted Jesse wasn’t allowed to leave a drop behind in. They passed them back and forth with each other, Jesse finding the haze in his head growing thick and thicker with each drink while Gabriel seemed to have only a mild buzz.

Truth be told, Jesse was actually quite enjoying himself. His anxiety and timidness all but chased away with liquid courage. Him and Gabriel had been going back and forth, trading jokes, talking about everything and nothing in particular. Gossip around the Blackwatch barracks, Gabriel recalling stories from the Crisis, bits of their respective histories. Easy banter that Jesse realized he’d been missing. It wasn’t easy thing for him to admit, but he never had much experience making friends. Mostly because he felt he never had a real chance to. Deadlock didn’t care about anything that wasn’t making money, and Blackwatch wasn’t a frat house. But he _liked_ this, sitting and talking with someone who seemed to enjoy sitting and talking to him.

Never mind the fact that it made the ache in his chest strike harder and harder every time Gabriel so much as glanced his way.

“So, what do you think, kid,?” he asked, knocking back his final shot.  
  
For the upteenth time that night, Jesse found himself quietly enthralled at watching the column of Gabriel’s throat move as he took a drink. He shook his head, coming back to Gabriel’s question. Right, the tequila. “S’good. _Really_ fuckin good,” Jesse answered. His accent became more and more pronounced as the drinks took their toll.

Another smile flashed his way at that. Butterflies again. _Definitely the booze_. “Told ya,” Gabriel replied. He stretched his arms across the back of the booth, the sweater’s fabric pulling taught across his chest, the shape of defined muscle visible through the...

Jesse shook his head. _Nope, no, no, no,_ he thought. _Don’t go there right now. He’s two feet in front of ‘ya._ But Gabriel wasn’t looking at him, his head turned to the side, admiring a piece of art hanged on the far wall. The silence went on a beat longer than Jesse wanted it to, and he struggled in his drunken, clouded thoughts to find something to say, something to pull Gabe’s attention back to him…

“Y’don’t regret pullin’ me outta Deadlock, do you?”

The words leave Jesse’s throat before he realizes what he’s saying, and he immediately wishes he could take them back. Or run away. Running away would probably work, too.

But it’s too late. Gabriel’s body goes quite still as he turns back Jesse’s way, leveling him with a strange expression. “Excuse me?” He asks.

Jesse takes that as his saving grace. “Nothin’, nothin’, ferget I said anythin’,” he said with a small chuckle, trying to play it off. He lifts one of the empty glasses. “Whole lotta booze in a whole little bit of time, y’know?” he flashes a forced, toothy grin at Gabriel. “Things that don’t make sense slip out sometimes. Can’t catch ‘em.”

Gabriel doesn’t look like he’s buying it. He’s eyeing Jesse down with that same, unreadable stare, and it makes Jesse want to squirm in his seat, glancing at the front door as he seriously reconsiders his escape plan. Finally, he responds not to long after. “What makes you think I’d regret that, McCree?” he asks him, point blank.

Jesse can’t even bring himself to look up at his commander, instead keeping his focus on the shotglass he’s twirling in a small circle on the booth’s table. He feels himself turning red, and hopes it’s just from booze rather than the embarrassment he feels welling up. Why did he do this? Things were going so well, he was enjoying himself…

Across from him, he heard Gabriel let out a sigh, followed with a soft groan from the booth as he got up from his seat, walking over to the barkeep. Jesse watched him walk over & converse with the owner for a short while. _Nice job, kid_ . he thought to himself, turning away to stare sourly at the many glasses in front of him. _Prolly thinks you’re some runt who can’t hold his liquor worth a damn, now._

Suddenly, the touch of a hand was felt on his shoulder. He looks up. Gabriel is standing behind him, and Jesse is praying inside his head that Gabriel can’t feel how irregular his breaths are coming from such a simple touch.

“Grab your stuff, Jesse. Bout time we head back.” he turns at that, pulling on his peacoat as he went & makes for the door. Jesse stands a bit too fast, then feels himself wobble as the liquor reminds him of how long he’s been sitting. He chuckles a bit from how clumsy he feels, but manages to get his serape and hat on without too much difficulty & makes for the bathroom to relieve himself quickly. He gives a wave to the barkeep on his way out, and thanks him in English for the drinks, which he seems to understand, waving back at him with a kind smile. Jesse hopes he’ll find a way to  comes back here, soon. He likes this place.

When he steps outside, his comm tells him that it’s even colder outside than before, but Jesse honestly doesn’t feel much of a difference, alcohol warm in his belly. Gabriel is already back in the Cadillac, it’s engine running idly. He climbs in the passenger side, feeling the pins and needles of anxiousness starting to graze against his skin. Gabriel pulls out of the parking space.

“Y’sure you’re good to drive, Gabe?” Jesse slurs. “Y’had about as much as me, to drink…”

Something about that must’ve struck Gabriel as funny, because he laughs a quiet laugh to himself. “Trust me, I’m good.”

“I do trust you,” Jesse says without realizing, his mind otherwise focused on staring outside window as the lights of the city blurred into one. He even misses the way Gabriel looks over at him, in that comment.

It’s practically silent the whole ride back to headquarters, save for the purr of the engine & the music on the radio Gabriel is keeping low, seeming content to let blur into the background with the rest of the noise. Jesse can’t help but feel like his comment about regret had shifted something, closed Gabriel off to him somehow. He keeps his hands in his lap and doesn’t stare much at anything else, even as the pavement and highway returned to dirt roads through trees, signaling that they were almost back at base. Soon enough, the gate reemerged through the trees, the lights from the Overwatch facility behind it like a guiding star. Gabriel hops out of the car to punch the code into the gate, hopping back in as it starts to slide open. He takes the Cadillac across the tarmac, pulling into one of the hangars that stored Blackwatch’s transport vehicles. Slowly, he guides the car into a far corner, motioning for Jesse to get out as he removed the key. He obliges.

Producing a large cover-up from somewhere nearby, he motions at Jesse, who’s still pointedly not looking his way. “Give me a hand?” he asks, the first words spoken since leaving the bar. Nodding his head, Jesse helps him pull it over the Cadillac, Gabriel rubbing his hands together when they’re done.

“Well,” he says simply. “Fun night, eh?”  
  
Jesse simply turns to leave with a nod of agreement, his feet drunkenly carrying themselves forward in the direction of the Blackwatch dorms. Head down, hat low. He doesn’t even feel like he’s in control of his body, it moving on instinct, putting as much distance between itself as Gabriel as he could. Faintly, he could hear Gabriel calling out to him, but he partially blocks it out, couldn’t face him.

“ _McCree._ ”

Oh. That voice. Gabriel only ever used his 'Commander' voice in training and when running ops. The effect is immediate. Jesse’s feet halt in their place out of instinct at the sound, just a few steps from the exit. He clenches his eyes shut, hears the soft steps of Gabriel’s boots marching towards him, echoing through the hangar. Faintly, through the still drink-induced haze, he can feel himself shaking. The steps finally stop, sounding not far from Jesse’s back.

“Turn around, McCree.”

He’s powerless against that voice. Jesse turns, his eyes still shut, head low. He hears Gabriel sigh.

“Christ, Jesse,” he said, sounding exasperated. “ _Look at me_.”

And then there are hands at his face, warm, calloused hands, cupping him, forcing it back up. Jesse’s will betrays him, eyes fluttering open to see...Gabriel is holding his face, _making_ him look at him eye level, stareing with a mix of confusion and concern.

“Will you _say something?_ What has gotten into you?” Gabriel asks. His voice is tinged with concern. “You never answered my question from before.” he added quietly.

 _You’re pathetic_ , Jesse thinks to himself as he feels a mixture of panic and sadness rapidly taking hold in his chest. _Man’s asking you point blank & you can’t even answer. _

“I-it’s nothin’ sir, honest,” Jesse finally manages to force out. He can hear the waver in his voice, and from the way Gabriel’s eyes narrow, he caught it too. “Gabe, I mean. Not sir. Gabriel. I...ah, fuck…”

“Jesse,” Gabriel says carefully, releasing his face to cross his arms. He’s still staring at that Jesse with a look of concern. “Know that I’m not saying this as your Commander, here. Is there something you need to tell me?”

He tries to answer Gabriel’s question, he really does. “I...I just…,” is all that he seems to be able to give out. How could he say the rest? _I love you, Commander. I’ve been in love with you since you took me in, made me into something with value. You practically own me, and I don’t mind a bit. This night meant more to me than anything else._

Gabriel lets him stand there for a while, listening to Jesse’s short breaths as he tries to work himself up. Finally, he sighs, walking over slowly to him. Jesse’s head has fallen low again, the rim of his hat hiding his face. Slowly, Gabriel takes him into his arms in a hug. “I don’t regret pulling you from Deadlock, Jesse.” he says in a soft voice, rubbing at his back. “Not in the slightest.”

With his eyes closed, he doesn’t realize Gabriel is moving his face in to kiss him until he raises Jesse’s chin with his hand, for their lips meet.

His eyes shoot open, startled, to confirm that, yes, this is indeed happening. Gabriel, his crush, his _Commander_ is kissing him, right here in the Blackwatch hangar. His lips are warm, so soft, with the taste of tequila and something heady  & masculine mixed on them, a scent entirely Gabriel’s own.

It makes Jesse’s resolve crumble into grains of sand almost instantly.

His mind goes blank, switching from panic to bliss as he returns the kiss, a hand tentatively running along the sleeve of Gabriel’s sweater, grabbing at it for purchase. He feels Gabriel smile against his lips as he presses in again, gently coaxing Jesse’s mouth open with his own. His heart feels like it might beat out his chest. Feeling bold, he pulls himself closer to Gabriel, linking his arms around the back of his trim waist as Gabriel’s tongue surges forward in response, searching Jesse’s mouth with his own. He obliged, and has no shame admitting to the loud _moan_ that escapes him as he tastes his commander. Then, suddenly, Gabriel is pulling back, Jesse instinctively moving forward after him, magnetized. But Gabriel is just standing over Jesse, smiling, an arm around his back, keeping him close. He traces a thumb over Jesse’s cheek softly with his free hand.

“Gabe, _please_ …” Jesse isn’t sure what he’s asking for, but he’s leaning into that touch, hearing Gable chuckle as the hand around him moves to the back of his neck, massaging gently there. He feels his legs growing weaker by the second. “Wanted this...you...for _so damn long_ …”  
  
“Not gonna lie,” Gabriel replies, his smile growing a little wider still. He leans down, kissing across Jesse’s jaw before settling by his ear. “Been thinking about this for some time, myself,” he hears in a husky whisper breathed against his skin.

Jesse can’t help but laugh at that, the casual admission almost too much. He’s seeing stars. “Yeah?” he asks smartly.

“You think I don’t catch the way you look at me?” Gabriel says. His voice is low in his throat, and he’s still talking to Jesse’s ear, massaging his neck, driving him _crazy_ . “The way you’re _always_ looking? Subtlety isn’t something you have a lot of, McCree. I could tell what you wanted after your first month here.”

That voice, warm breath at his ear is causing Jesse’s brain to short-circuit. Gabriel’s words barely register. He feels his breathing coming harder, more labored, blood rushing…

“Thought it would wear off after a bit, if I did nothing,” Gabriel went on, seemingly oblivious to the effect he was having on the boy in his arms. “Some kinda teenage crush, or hero worship, maybe a mix of both... had to deal with subordinates like that before...” He leaned in again, pressing kisses against Jesse’s lips, his jaw, his neck.

Somehow, a coherent thought formed in Jesse’s mind. “So why didn't ‘ya act sooner?”

Gabriel chuckled darkly at that, Jesse feeling it vibrate out from his chest. He was now very acutely aware of the tent beginning to form in his jeans. “You mean besides being your Commander in a UN-sanctioned strike force? Forgive me, Jesse, but I can’t exactly walk around base holding hands with you.”  
_I wouldn’t have minded,_ Jesse thought.

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t think about it, though,” Gabriel continued. A warm hand snaked itself along Jesse’s front as he talked. “ About you. Hard not to, the way you’d push yourself to your limits in exercises, on missions. Vying for my attention. All the times I considered just _ordering_ you to come to my office...”

Something sparks together in Jesse’s mind, and he finds his mouth moving ahead of his brain. “So what about now?” he says, staring Gabe straight in the eyes.

He watches as Gabriel’s eyes dilate from brown to almost pure black, stares down at Jesse with an absolutely predatory grin, like he’s some snack Gabriel is ready to devour. He chuckles as he pulls himself closer, until Jesse is _sure_ he’s able to feel the boner forming in his pants. If he does, Gabriel says nothing. “Is that what you want, _vaquero_?” he purrs, running a hand through Jesse’s hair. “Want to come back with me to my office?”

Jesse can’t shake his head yes fast enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesse getting into Gabe's car: "OH NO HE'S HOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT"


	3. III: THE NIGHT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's your smut, heathens. Gabriel is a talker in bed. Consider this your warning.

The walk from the Blackwatch hangar to the Commander’s office takes about 5 minutes, at most, but right now to Jesse it feels like a lifetime. He’s watching Gabriel ahead of him, still reeling from what just happened. In disbelief that it’s still happening. And more than excited at the prospect of how good it was going to get.

Reyes stopped at a door, unmarked, that Jesse recognized as his office. No nametag necessary for the Commander of a black ops organization. He twists a silver key, opening it with a click & stepping to the side, motioning for Jesse to enter as he looks around them, making sure no one else sees.

Jesse had only ever been inside this office, once, when he was officially inducted as a Blackwatch Agent. He had given Gabriel his fingerprints here, received his training uniform, and that had been that. Not much seemed like it changed; the walls and furnishings were still spartan but clean, with only a bookshelf and couch with a small lamp next to it in the corner of the room as signs of personal touch. A door he knew that led to Gabe’s personal quarters was off to the side.

He almost, _almost_ forgot why he was here currently, until he felt Gabriel’s hands snaking their way around his waist from behind, jogging his memory. He leans back into the touch, the back of his head hitting Gabriel’s shoulder, delighting in the laugh it drew from him. “Eager, aren’t we?” he teased. “My bed is right over there, you know.”

Jesse turned around, grabbing Gabriel’s face in his hands and drawing him down into a searing kiss. “Fuck that,” he said, feeling bold. They moved forward together, until the back of Jesse’s knees met Gabriel’s desk. He seats himself, wrapping his legs around Gabriel, pinning him in place. The growl he got in return was worth it, Gabriel diving back to roughly explore at his mouth, biting at his bottom lip.

They parted slowly. Jesse watched as Gabriel stood, running a hand over the shoulder of Jesse’s flannel, smoothing it out. “How do you want to do this, Jesse?” he asked, voice smooth and even.

Oh. Yeah. This was the part Jesse hadn’t thought far enough to prepare for, not expecting to have gotten here at all.

He must have been silent for longer than he realized, because Gabriel began to look at him with an eyebrow raised. “Jesse?” he asked. “You still with me?”  
  
He nodded his head quickly. “Yeah, Gabe, yeah,” he said. “I just...uh…”

Gabriel seemed to pick up the hint, which Jesse was eternally grateful for. His stare was a mix of understanding and slight trepidation. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you McCree?”

“No!” Jesse said _too_ quickly, defensive. Well, it wasn’t entirely a lie. The occasional jack-off sessions he’d share with other members in Deadlock, or a fevered handjob behind the Diner was all he’d ever let happen. “I mean, I’ve never gone uh, ‘all the way,’ or whatever you wanna call it, ‘specially with a dude…” he suddenly felt like stupid tease, kissing and goading for Gabriel to take him back to room only to slow things down to a halt with his inexperience. “Doesn’t mean I don’t know...what…” he trailed off, his alcohol-addled brain not quite knowing where he was going with this.

Gabriel hummed above him. “Well, I suppose it’s better that you said something before we crossed a boundary you didn’t know you had,” he said simply. Then he grabbed Jesse’s hands in his, leaning down to kiss him again. Pulling away, he asked quietly, “We’ll go at your pace. Whatever you want, _mi sol_. Do you want me to fuck you, Jesse? Or would you rather fuck me? Or we can just move to the couch together. Your call.”

Jesse’s cock gave an excited twitch from the confines of his jeans. He was getting so hard, it ached. “Ggghnn...yes, I want _you_ to…” he said, breath coming in raggedly as Gabriel cut him off, kissing him roughly once more. He grabbed at the hem of his sweater. “Can ‘ya take this off, at least?”

Not needing to be told twice, Gabriel lifted the sweater up and over his head in one smooth motion, his undershirt coming with it.

“Fuck…” Jesse couldn’t help but breathe out in unabashed interest. It wasn’t his first time seeing his commander half-naked, but in _this_ situation, Gabriel looked like a vision. Cut, defined, _thick_ muscle covered every inch of him, tattoos dotting places usually hidden under his uniform. His barrel chest bore the biggest, a tattoo of an owl, wings in flight clutching the skull of another owl in its claws, across it. A light dusting of dark hair crossed his pecs, following down through wrought abs, disappearing into a trail beneath the waistband of his pants...

Gabriel stood a little taller, puffed his chest out, showing himself off with a confident smirk. “Like the view?”

Jesse could only nod dumbly, letting his eyes wander across the spectacle in front of him. He lifted a hand, but stopped himself, looking at Gabriel expectantly. “Can I…?” he asked. Gabriel didn’t respond, instead opting to take Jesse’s hand underneath his own, guiding it to the owl on his chest. Heat bloomed beneath Jesse’s palm. Gabriel felt like a furnace. _God_ , _his skin is so soft_ , Jesse thought as he dragged his hand across those pecs, running fingertips idly over dark nipples, watching them rise to nubs as he went. Gabriel’s hand never left his. Seeming more than a little touch-starved, his head was leaned back, and Jesse heard him let out a deep breath, his entire torso rising and falling, shifting beneath his hand as he did. He let his hand wander farther down, brushing over abs, feeling the trail of hair below his belly button.

Gabriel’s hand suddenly grabbed at his wrists, gently, but enough to stop the advance. Jesse looked up. Eyes still dilated into pools of black, he moved closer, gently guiding jesse to sit back against the desk before putting himself over Jesse again. “Not fair just peeling _me_ out of my clothes,” he said, beginning to work at the buttons on McCree’s flannel.

Jesse was squirming underneath him in pleasure. “Nghh…” he started. “Gabe, please, wanna touch you…”

That earned a dark chuckle. “You’ll get to touch & then some,” Gabe replied, voice thick with lust. “We have all night, remember? I want a piece, too.”

And with that, he had reached the lowest button, practically ripping Jesse’s flannel open as he fully laid back across the desk. Jesse knew he wasn’t the same scrawny teenager that he was when he first arrived at base; He was leaner, muscles from the intense workouts the Agents were subject to starting to build on and bulk out his frame. Gabriel’s eyes roamed like he was inspecting a prize he had won, his hands following suit shortly after, moving along Jesse’s sides, grabbing at his hips. Moving back up, he gently massaged at Jesse’s chest, leaning down to kiss all over the visible skin. All Jesse could see in his mind was white as he leaned back, arching his torso to that touch, moaning and whimpering as he let Gabriel have his way.

He couldn’t hold in the small gasp when one of Gabriel’s hands suddenly moved to the front of Jesse’s jeans, cupping and fondling the bulge so obvious down there. His other one stayed at his chest, twisting and pinching at one of Jesse’s nipples, teasing it. His breath was coming in ragged, “Gabe...Gabe…” was all he was able to let out.

“ _So_ eager for it,” he heard Gabriel say, no doubt enjoying himself. He squeezed Jesse’s bulge through his jeans meaningfully, and the whine it drew from beneath him made a smile break out across his face.

“I wanna...want _yours_ …” Jesse managed to let out as Gabriel continued pawing at him.

“What did I say, Jesse? We have all night.” He was moving to the button on Jesse’s jeans, and for a split second, he felt panic register in his brain as Gabriel undid it, began to pull his pants down. But then he saw the look Gabriel had on his face, the look of pure _want_ , and it chased all doubts from his mind. The red briefs Jesse was wearing were tented, a small dark spot already forming where the head jutted forward, wet with desire. Gabriel hummed thoughtfully looking at it.

“Looks like you’re packing some heat in there, _vaquero_ ,” he said teasingly.

Jesse felt blush creep to his cheeks, turning his face into his arm to hide. “Sh-shut up…”

Gabriel just laughed. And then there was a hand on his dick, and _holy shit_ , the small layer of fabric separating Jesse’s cock from Gabe’s hand was like a flimsy barrier, a tease of the show to come. The warmth from Gabriel’s hand could be felt through it. “No,” he replied smugly. “I like it.” And wish a simple tug, the waistband of Jesse’s briefs was pulled with his pants down to the floor, his cock jutting up, freed from its confines. He practically shuddered as Gabriel took him in one of his hands, seemed to inspect it, thumbed at the head that was already slick with precum, jumped when he gave a couple experimental tugs. Jesse saw stars.

“You’ve got a nice dick,” Gabriel was saying. “Real nice.”

“Gabriel…” Jesse choked out, eyes squeezed shut. He felt a small spot of drool forming at the corner of his mouth. “Stop fuckin’ _teasing_ me…”

Another laugh. “Alright, since you’ve been so patient.” Gabriel said. Then suddenly he was leaning down, down, and Jesse felt a wet heat wrapping itself around his cock.

“ _Fuuuuuuuuuuuck_ ,” Jesse cried out as he looked at the scene in front of him. Gabriel was taking him into his mouth, his lips pursed, head bobbing up and down as he sucked, trying to see how much of Jesse he could fit in one go. Coming back up with a soft _pop_ , he freed the head from his mouth, only to lick a stripe down his length before he wrapped around the head again, teasing and sucking at it with Gabriel’s tongue. It felt so _good_. He felt his cock practically weeping precum into Gabriel’s mouth, who was humming as he worked, like it was some treat just for him.

He pulled off of Jesse, shooting him a grin from between his legs as he pumped him lazily, only serving to make Jesse’s cock throb harder with the stimulation. “You like that, Jesse? Want a break?”  
“ _So good_ …” Jesse agreed in a breathless whisper. “ _Please don’t stop._...”

Gabriel shifted himself onto his knees at that, giving Jesse’s cock a few more tugs, licking at the slit at the head. A trail of fluid followed him as he pulled off, attached to his lips. Gabriel swiped at it with his thumb, only to lock eyes with Jesse who watched in mild fascination as he sucked it off. His grin was positively wicked

 _I’m gonna die here_ , Jesse thought as he felt his cock disappear into the back Gabriel’s throat. He worked at him like that for what felt like hours, sucking and licking, moaning around him in his mouth as Jesse fell apart little by little. He felt desire pool deep in his belly, a familiar sensation building up.

“Gabe,” Jesse managed to say. “I...I think I’m gonna…”

And then Gabriel was pulling off him, that warm heat gone. Jesse let out involuntary whine as Gabriel stood again, looming over him.

“Why’d you stop?” he asked, chest rising and falling as he tried to remember how normal people did things like breathe.

“We _just_ started, Jesse,” Gabriel replied, crossing his arms. “There’s still things I want to do to you before you finish.”

Jesse couldn't help the way he felt his stomach clench at that. Inadvertently, he felt his eyes travel down to the bulge now making itself very apparent at the front of Gabriel’s slacks. He must have followed Jesse’s gaze, because he suddenly cupped himself in hand. Jesse licked his lips.

“This what you want, Jesse?” Gabriel said, adjusting himself as he spoke.

“Yes,” Jesse answered almost immediately. “Please, Gabriel, I want…let me suck it.” He felt dirty saying it like that, but it was true.

Gabriel leaned down to kiss him again before scooting himself closer, leaning his hips forward. “I’ll let you do the honors,” he said with a smirk.

Jesse tentatively reached for the belt, undoing it and the zipper underneath as gently as possible. Pulled the belt from the loops, Gabriel’s slacks met Jesse’s jeans on the floor in a heap. Gabriel’s boxers were black and loose-fitting, but there was a still _very_ generous shape filling out the front. Jesse felt himself lick his lips. He surged forward of the desk, positioning himself on his knees, feeling confident. But one of Gabriel’s hands suddenly stopped him, cupping his chin. So close to it, he could feel the warmth radiating…

“You ever sucked a cock before?” he was asking Jesse, his eyes suddenly serious.

He gulped, “Uh, only once…’s been a while since then…”

Jesse knew Gabriel could probably spot the lie, but if he did, he said nothing. “Want me to walk you through it?” Gabriel rubbed Jesse’s face as he spoke, making him lean into the sensual touch.

“Y-yeah, I think that’ll help,” Jesse finally answered as the hand pulled away.

With a nod, Gabriel let him get back to work. He pulled down on the waistband of Gabriel’s briefs, let them fall to the floor and _holy shit_ . Gabriel wasn’t even fully hard yet, and he was _huge_. His uncut cock was thick and veiny, a patch of curly black hairs at the base. He watched as it gave an interested twitch under Jesse’s gaze. Tentatively, he reached out, cupping it in his hand. “God damn,” he found himself saying, unable to look away.

Gabriel was looking down at him with half-lidded eyes as Jesse peeled the extra skin back, tugging and jerked his cock, same as he did to Jesse. He watched it grow harder in his hands as he worked. Fuck, he was even bigger than Jesse first thought. He suddenly felt very inexperienced, looking up at Gabriel, who must’ve got the message, because Gabriel cleared his throat before speaking again. “Put the head in your mouth,’ he directed, as Jesse obeyed. “Yeah, just, ah...ooh, shit. Don’t be afraid to use your tongue, yeah, like that, sloppy is good, I don’t mind a mess... _fuck, Jesse_ …”

The quiet praise made Jesse hum happily around Gabriel. He tasted so good, a warm and heavy weight in his mouth, salty on his tongue. That masculine scent was filling his nostrils, surrounding him. Jesse felt possessed by it. Gabriel’s hands found their way to Jesse’s head, running fingers idly through his hair as he continued guiding Jesse, keeping his head in place. He couldn’t go as far as Gabriel took him, he was too big for that, but Gabriel didn’t seem to mind as he gently thrusted forward into his mouth, letting Jesse control the pace, taking him in as much as he could. He tried to imitate what Gabriel did to him earlier, licking up his shaft and sucking at his balls, wanting it to feel as good for Gabriel as it did for him. It must’ve worked, if the mutterings of Spanish escaping Gabriel’s lips was anything to go by, too quiet to actually hear but sounded _filthy_.

Jesse would’ve been content to just stay like that, on his knees, mouth worshipping on Gabriel until the sun came up. But Gabriel had other plans, it seems, pulling Jesse off the floor and sitting him back up to sit on the desk, his hand guiding the back of Jesse’s head into a kiss. Their naked bodies flushed together, cocks touching, and Jesse couldn’t help but rut against the warm friction, moaning and whimpering as their tongues explored each other’s mouths. He was so turned on it actually kind of hurt. He reached down to palm at his cock, only to feel Gabriel’s hand slap him away.

“I told you earlier,” he said, breaking away from the kiss. “More to do before you finish. You want to keep going, right?”

Jesse’s mind was too clouded with lust to answer, so he just nodded his head slowly.

“Good boy. Now, can you do something for me?” Gabriel asked, Jesse sat up straighter at that, looking at Gabriel expectedly.

“Lay down over the desk, Jesse,” Gabriel said, petting his arm in encouragement.

He obeyed, bending himself over flat across the wooden surface, his aching cock pressing against the edge. He opened his mouth to ask why Gabriel was getting on his knees, pushing Jesse’s legs further apart fo-

“Oh, _holy shit_ ,” Jesse let out involuntarily as he felt something warm and wet at his ass. His mind went blank. He looked to see Gabriel, head buried, kissing and licking between him. Jesse felt a tongue passed in a slow, steady drag over his entrance before moving back down, pushing into the ring of muscle, as Gabriel’s hands worked into overtime grabbing and massaging Jesse’s ass. He had never been so turned on in his life, his cock practically leaking precum like a faucet. Gabriel didn’t stop, the strings of Spanish continued being purred as he occasionally went up for air.

“Feeling nice?” He finally asked. Jesse simply nodded his head, slumped over the desk, mouth slack. He must’ve looked a sight, because Gabriel let out a chuckle. “You have a pretty hole, Jesse.” he continued. “Tastes good. _Real_ good. Wouldn’t mind staying here for a while.” Jesse didn’t even have time to respond before Gabriel went to work again, pulling Jesse’s ass apart wider, wanting better access.

“So fuckin’ good…” he heard Gabriel repeat somewhere behind him. “Maybe I _would_ stay here all night if I couldn’t already guess what you _really_ want.”

Jesse felt Gabriel’s body pressing down over his, a hand turning Jesse’s head towards him, dipping into another kiss. His fingers were beginning to wander, ghosting over Jesse’s cock which earned a whimper between their locked mouths at the slight contact. Then Gabriel’s fingers were moving, over, teasing at his hole, Jesse squirming underneath. “Boss…” he panted.

Gabriel suddenly stopped, his fingers pulling away. “Say my _name_ , Jesse,” he said, voice serious, staring intensely into his eyes. “I won’t know what you want unless you ask me.”

Those capable fingers returned, petting slowly at Jesse’s ass. He felt near tears from the sheer pleasure of the whole situation. “I want you, Gabe, fuck, I want you anyway I can get ‘ya, want ‘ya _in me_ …”

As if those were the magic words, Jesse felt the fingers come back to his entrance, more insistent this time, pressing at it but not breaching. A tease. He felt near tears, heard himself whimpering like a puppy, but couldn’t find it in himself to care. He clawed at the desk, trying to rut back against them, hoping the message came across. Gabriel growled as he surged forward, leaning forward again to lock Jesse back into a passionate kiss as his fingers continued to pet behind him. Through closed eyes, he vaguely heard Gabriel rummaging through a nearby drawer in the desk, the pop of a cap…

“Are you with me, Jesse?” Gabriel suddenly asked, his voice soft. He opened his eyes. Gabriel was looking at him, obviously just as turned on as Jesse felt, his body contracting and expanding with every breath. He nodded yes to the question. “This is serious. I know this is going to be new for you,” Gabriel was continuing. “If you feel, _ever_ feel like something’s wrong, like you need to stop, you say ‘Red.’ Understand? I’ll stop, no questions asked. If you want to keep going, tell me ‘Green.’”

Jesse shook his head in agreement. He couldn’t help the flutter in his heart at this, Gabriel making sure he was prepared, that he would be okay. It seemed so personal. “Got it, Gabe.”

“Say it back to me. So I know you understand.”

“Red to break it off, Green to keep goin’,” Jesse said, running a hand down Gabriel’s bicep, squeezing the hard muscle. “I got it.”

And then, something warm and wet was at his hole, and Jesse let out a gasp as he felt one of Gabriel’s lubed fingers entering him, head lolling back as his mouth went slack again. The look at the man’s face at the sound was wicked, like he was fascinated by the way Jesse reacted him him. “Someone _really_ likes their ass getting played with,” he said, low and sultry. He felt it move deeper inside, down to the knuckle. “This is just one finger, too.”

“ _More_ ,” Jesse pleaded. “Fuck, Gabe, ‘feels so damn _good_ , I want more…”

Now he let out a genuine noise when he felt a second finger beginning to join the one already there, pain mixing in slightly with the stretch. Gabriel froze, looking up at Jesse. “Green,” he said breathlessly, remembering the code. Nodding, Gabriel went back to work, the second finger sliding easily with the slick leftover from the first. Jesse felt himself grip the desk with both hands as those fingers began to move, slowly at first, back and forth, pulling out completely at times before going back in. Gabriel’s eyes never left Jesse the entire time, watching with serious fascination at the way his body seemed to react to his touch.

A sudden twist of the fingers inside suddenly made Jesse let out a cry as his vision disintegrated into dots. “Oh, FUCK.” He felt sheer pleasure and electricity surge through his body in equal parts, trembling at the sensation.

“That’s it. That’s the spot I was looking for,” Gabriel said. “That felt good, right Jesse?” As if looking for confirmation, his fingers brushed against it again, Jesse practically forcing himself back into the touch. His entire body went limp.

“Gabe, oh my god, what are you-” Jesse was trying to say before the surge wracked his body a third time.

“This,” Gabriel said, cruelly pressing at the spot inside him again, as if to prove his point, “is your prostate. Feels good, doesn’t it? Think I could make you cum just from this alone? Probably more than once.”

Jesse’s body was downright shaking now. “Feels like you’re tryin’,” he said in a breathless voice, trying his hardest to bear further down onto Gabriel’s fingers.  

“We’ll have to test that theory sometime,” Gabriel said smugly, his fingers still lazily pumping in and out. “Just like this for hours, working and stretching you out in there.” Suddenly, his fingers were pulling out, Jesse whining at the sudden absence. “Not the plan for tonight, though,” he finished.

Gabriel stood, his hand moving down to his cock, lazily pumping it with lube as he looked down at Jesse. “You sure you want to do this?” he asked, voice seemingly genuine with concern. “I’m not exactly small, for someone’s first time taking a dick.”

Jesse was still reeling from the previous onslaught of pleasure, but he vaguely heard Gabriels’ words. “I'm sure,” he said.

“Repeat what I said earlier,” Gabriel commanded.  
  
“Green to go, red to stop.  I know, Gabe,” Jesse whined, growing antsy, watching the show Gabriel was putting on in front of him.  “Do it. I want you to.”

That did it. With a low growl, Gabriel moved himself closer, lining up his cock at Jesse’s entrance. He took a breath at the first initial breach, the slicked head sliding in. “Ah, _ah_ …” he began to pant.

Above him, Gabriel froze, obviously affected too, but looked up at Jesse expectantly.  
  
“Green,” Jesse said, nodding his head.

Gabriel returned the nod, placing a hand around his cock to guide it in better. Jesse didn’t think any feeling could beat Gabriel eating him out earlier, but the more he felt Gabriel’s cock entering him, stretching him out, the more he found he was changing his mind. A low keen escaped from Jesse’s throat as he felt Gabriel fully put himself inside his balls brushing against Jesse’s ass. He didn’t move for a moment, keeping them locked in position, letting Jesse adjust to the intrusion. He was obviously fighting to keep his cool. Jesse could see him gritting his teeth.

“Feels so good, Gabe…” Jesse said, trying his hardest to stay coherent, wanting to encourage him. “Like nothin’ else, ah...”

Gabriel’s chest was rising and falling rapidly, his eyes not leaving Jesse’s, mouth open. “I need to _move_ ,” he said, a hint of desperation at his voice. Jesse nodded.

Slowly, he began to get to work, gently pulling back before moving thrusting forward again, finding a rhythm to start. “You’re doing good,” Gabriel said, voice barely above a whisper. Sweat was beginning to shine across his body. “Feels so warm, tight like a vice, god, _Jesse_ …”

Jesse could do nothing, nothing but lay there in bliss and feel the way his body practically engulfed Gabriel’s cock as it moved inside him, bearing down around it, causing Gabriel to let out his own strangled moans. Pulling out just for a moment, he turned Jesse around to lay flat on his back, hitching his legs on either side of his shoulders. Getting better access. With a particularly hard thrust in this new position, Jesse felt the head of Gabriel’s cock slam against that spot inside Gabriel had been teasing earlier as he started to pound away, harder, harder. Jesse couldn’t hold back. With a strangled groan, he felt his cock stripe his chest with cum, twitching at the overstimulation happening from every angle. The nerves in his body felt like they were practically singing.

“That good, huh?” Gabriel asked, not letting up. “Didn’t even have to touch you.” Jesse didn’t answer, his broken moans echoing through the office, touching and massing his chest with his free hands, searching for extra stimulation. He let out a yelp as Gabriel grabbed his cock, giving it a sloppy tug, the feeling almost on the painful side of pleasure after such an intense orgasm.

Jesse couldn’t stop watching Gabriel as he worked away at him, the flex each muscle made with the movements of his body. “Gabriel,” he pleaded, wanting him to come closer, hoping he got the message through his hoarse voice. Gabriel obliged, leaning down to kiss him passionately, Jesse’s hands running wild over him, scratching at his back, grabbing a handful of his ass while Gabriel didn’t let up the pace. He knew he had to be close. Gabriel’s breath was coming in more and more ragged, and his hips stuttered more as he thrust away. He was becoming a lot less quiet, too, whispering gentle words on encouragement into Jesse’s ear, moaning against his skin. “Gonna fuckin’ cum soon, Jesse. Keep squeezing around me, yeah, just like that, _no pares_ , ah…”

Jesse felt him pulling out, and practically chased him back down, his hips pushing Gabriel further in to keep them intertwined. “In me,” he pleaded. “Cum in me.”

He could pinpoint the moment Gabriel loses it, the way his eyes widen at those words before he snarls, actually _snarls_ , and begins pounding away harder than ever before, forcing Jesse to grab onto the desk for support. With a final, particularly forceful thrust, he feels Gabriel’s cock twitch inside him, his release spilling inside, warm and not that unpleasant. He collapses on top of Jesse, not even bothering to pull out as he supports himself with one arm, catching his breath. “Where’d you learn to say shit like _that_?” he asks after a minute.

Jesse comes down from the clouds he’s currently resting on enough to wraps his hands around the back of Gabriel’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss on the cheek. “Dunno,” he said truthfully, mouth turning up into a grin. “Just felt like I wanted you to, is all.”

Gabriel just smiles at that, lifting Jesse off the desk, wincing as Gabe slips out of him. He carries Jesse in both arms over to the couch, settling him down gently before moving towards the desk. He picks up Jesse’s red brief as he disappears into the side bathroom for a moment, returning with a damp towel, beginning to clean Jesse up. He’s not used to this. Jessee feels himself go tense under such a simple act as Gabriel dabs at his chest, his stomach, finding the simple act of affection confusing. Which causes Jesse to let out a giggle, thinking in his post-sex haze how ridiculous that is, compared to what just happened.

It causes Gabriel to lift an eyebrow at him as he finishes up, guiding his legs into the briefs as he pulled them back up, bringing Jesse back to semi-decency. “What’s funny?”  
Jesse slid a hand down his face, feeling dumb. “Truthfully? I dunno,” he said, with another small laugh. “Guess I just didn’t think any of this would ever happen.”

Gabriel just hums thoughtfully at that, lifting Jesse up again only to settle him into his lap as he sits down. “Me either,” he admits. He’s still naked, all heat and muscle that Jesse finds himself immediately curling into as large arms wrap around him. Can’t help the smile that spreads as he feels Gabriel begin to stroke through his hair. They stay like that for a while, eyes closed, content to just stay wrapped up in each other, an easy silence settling over the room only broken by the sound of their breathing. Finally, Gabriel sets him down back on the couch, placing a small kiss on Jesse’s lips before getting up & grabbing his own discarded clothes. He heads for his bedroom on the other end of the office.

Gabriel doesn’t come back for a couple minutes, and Jesse begins to feel the anxiety slowly creeping its way back into his brain as he sits alone. _Guess that’s that, then._ A fun romp for the night, chalking it up as a mutual craving, easily fulfilled ( _On one side, mostly,_ his mind adds unhelpfully). But it’s done now. He gets up, crossing to the desk to pick up his pants and hat, throwing his shirt on lazily as he makes for the door. The handle is all but turned when he hears Gabriel’s voice from behind him again.

“You’re leaving?”

Jesse turns. Gabriel is standing in his bedroom doorway, the room dimly lit inside from a bedside lamp. He’s thrown on little else other than basketball shorts and sandals. Jesse can see a pack of cigarettes in hand. He looks confused, staring at Jesse.

He hesitates. “I, uh, just thought that, this was done, so you’d…y’know...”

“What, just fuck and want you gone afterwards?” Gabriel finishes. His tone goes sharp as his eyes narrow Jesse’s way. “That’s what you think tonight was? Just some long-winded effort for a one night stand?” He waves the pack in his hand. “Was just throwing something on & grabbing a smoke.”

When he puts it like that, Jesse feels guilty, and more than a little stupid. “Sorry,” he mutters, grip falling from the handle. He’s back to avoiding Gabriel’s gaze. “Jus’ not used to these kinda things, I guess.”

Gabriel sighs, and Jesse hears steps walking towards him. A cigarette is offered into his view. “Have a smoke with me, McCree.”

Well, he _did_ feel like he could use a drag or two. Jesse takes the cigarette gingerly as Gabriel moves past him, opening the door  & moving outside. He hears the click of a lighter as he follows him, Gabriel taking his first drag. He sparks the lighter Jesse’s way, leaning in gratefully to spark the tip. The first inhale of smoke tastes heavenly, smoothing the edges of his nerves.

Gabriel finishes his cigarette first, tossing it unceremoniously to the ground before stamping it out with his sandal. He looks over. Jesse is shivering in the early-morning cold from his opened flannel, his cigarette about halfway through. Sliding over, he hooks his arms around Jesse, pulling him back flushed against his bulk, warming him. The effect is immediate, Jesse sighing as heat begins to flood from Gabriel’s skin to his.

“I love you, Jesse.”

The words are quiet, whispered gently into ear, but Jesse feels a pang in his chest all the same. He abandons the cigarette to turn in Gabriel’s arms, looking up at him.

“Me too. I uh, I love you too, Gabriel,” he says, berating himself for his inability to speak correctly. But Gabriel just smiles, absentmindedly tracing Jesse’s spine with a finger as he curls into his warmth. “Even if that’s...new. For me,” he finishes. An apology that he hopes Gabriel understands. _I just don’t know what I’m doing._

But he sees Gabriel just nod, a small kiss placed on his forehead. “I’d like you to stay here tonight,” he says, gaze full of affection. “With me. Will you do that, Jesse?”

“Yeah…” Jesse sighs, eyes closing as he says it. The need for sleep after such an... _eventful_ night catching up to him faster than he realized.

Gabriel picks him up again, carrying him through the office, back to his bedroom. Slowly, he climbs into the bed, a black comforter swallowing them both as he pulls it over them. Jesse seemed content to fit himself on top of Gabriel as best he could, arms still holding him close. Reaching over, Gabriel switches off the bedside lamp, swathing the windowless room in a private darkness. Just for them. For a few minutes they sit in content silence.

Jesse places a kiss to the chest he’s resting against “Gabriel?” he asks, sleepily.

“Hm?” He can see, adjusting to the lack of light, that Gabe’s eyes are already closed, a small smile on his face. He looks so peaceful.

Jesse couldn’t find it in himself to disturb that.

“Ne’er mind,” he says, “it can wait...” A final thought drifts in his mind before the best sleep Jesse’s ever had takes him.

_I’m all yours._


End file.
